Beethoven, Bruch: Violin Concertos (2006)

PentaTone Classic's releases of many historic recordings on SACD (or RQR, "Remastered Quadro Recordings," as they call them) do listeners a service by presenting recordings from the 1970s as they were originally engineered by Philips. That is, in quadraphonic sound. Philips was indeed ahead of the mark when it began making recordings in four-channel audio long before it was readily available for playback by consumers. Fortunately, the original masters are being re-released on SACD and the spacious, clear sound achieved is ... Read More

PentaTone Classic's releases of many historic recordings on SACD (or RQR, "Remastered Quadro Recordings," as they call them) do listeners a service by presenting recordings from the 1970s as they were originally engineered by Philips. That is, in quadraphonic sound. Philips was indeed ahead of the mark when it began making recordings in four-channel audio long before it was readily available for playback by consumers. Fortunately, the original masters are being re-released on SACD and the spacious, clear sound achieved is quite pleasant. Noticeably lacking in these recordings, however, are sufficient liner notes. The notes included spend so much time discussing the technology involved in the recording that they fail to make even a single mention of the violinist, legendary Belgian Arthur Grumiaux -- hailed by many as one of the leading violinists of the twentieth century. No mention is made of the young Colin Davis conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, either. The performances heard here are... Read Less